Eva Thai

Ezra Furman – All Of Us Flames

Plenty of artists openly protest against their categorisation along genre lines, while many more just quietly resent it, but across five albums since 2012, Ezra Furman has unabashedly channelled the rock’n’roll classicism of Reed, Dylan, Young and (especially) Springsteen, while repurposing its power to a unique end. In the run-up to 2013’s breakthrough, the hectic Day Of The Dog, Furman, who came out as a trans woman last year, declared her ambition was to be like Elvis, Buddy Holly or Patti Smith, and though solo identity as a group leader was on her mind there, not glory, with the blazing All Of Us Flames she’s stepping into the spotlight. ORDER NOW: Joni Mitchell is on the cover of the latest issue of Uncut It follows 2019’s Twelve Nudes and the previous year’s Transangelic Exodus and though it wasn’t planned as part of a trilogy, when the new LP was finished Furman noticed she’d intuitively been developing the themes explored on those earlier records – very real institutional threat and the active oppression of minority communities, including her own. The title is lifted from the single “Book Of Our Names”, whose springboard was the second book of the Hebrew Bible. It… Read More →

24AUGHit Singles

Arctic Monkeys announce new album, The Car

Arctic Monkeys have announced details of their new album, The Car. ORDER NOW: Joni Mitchell is on the cover of the latest issue of Uncut The band’s seventh studio album, The Car features ten new songs written by Alex Turner, produced by James Ford and recorded at Butley Priory, Suffolk, RAK Studios, London and La Frette, Paris. The deluxe LP will be available on limited grey vinyl with a tip on sleeve and mounted gloss cover image via the band’s official store. An exclusive, custard coloured LP will be available at independent record shops and HMV stores. The Car will also be available on standard LP, CD, cassette and digitally. You can pre-order the album here. Advertisement The tracklisting for The Car is: There’d Better Be A Mirrorball I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am Sculptures Of Anything Goes Jet Skis On The Moat Body Paint The Car Big Ideas Hello You Mr Schwartz Perfect Sense The band will be playing the following headline and festival shows: August 25 Rock En Seine, Paris, France 27 Reading Festival, UK 28 Leeds Festival, UK September 1 Cala Mijas Festival, Malaga, Spain 2 Kalorama, Lisbon, Portugal 4 Electric Picnic, Stradbally, Ireland 16… Read More →

24AUGNews

Ezra Collective share Sampa the Great collaboration ‘Life Goes On’ and announce new album

Jazz quintet Ezra Collective have shared a new collaboration with Sampa the Great and announced their new album, ‘Where I’m Meant To Be’, will arrive in November. READ MORE: Sampa The Great: “Music is the one thing that is supposed to be the truth” On the new single ‘Life Goes On’, which nods sonically to Fela Kuti’s ‘Shakara Oloje,’ Sampa fires off rapid verses over horns, keys and bass, buoyed by particularly lively percussion courtesy of bandleader (and touring Gorillaz drummer) Femi Koleoso. The song arrives alongside a video directed by Nathan Miller and shot on location in both London and Lusaka, Zambia. “London meets Lusaka. Moments of Joy, moments of struggle, but United in a spirit that we must carry on. Life must go on,” the band explain in an accompanying statement. “We write our music with a consistent will to push the boundaries of what we can mix jazz with. Advertisement “This incorporates the energies of southern African vibes, mixed with our own style of London jazz. And no better person to voice this beauty than the queen, Sampa the Great.” Watch below: ‘Where I’m Meant To Be’, the follow-up to 2019 debut ‘You Can’t Steal My Joy’,… Read More →

23AUGNews

Ladytron announce 20th anniversary edition of ‘Light & Magic’

Ladytron have announced a 20th anniversary reissue of second album ‘Light & Magic’ and shared a previously unreleased video for the record’s title track. The anniversary edition of ‘Light & Magic’ – the original of which arrived in 2002 – is due out September 17, with the band promising to release a series of unseen material to go alongside it. The first of those releases is the music video for the title track, which can be seen below: Advertisement Speaking about the clip, the band said that “when we released ‘Light & Magic’ it was expected that the title track would be a later single, and would therefore need a video clip of its own. But we were on tour and didn’t know how it would be done. We had all this beautiful slide film shot and envisaged animating it in some way, like a 1970s science fiction title sequence – ‘Sapphire And Steel’ or something like that. We disappeared on the road, plans changed, and ideas were forgotten. Twenty years later here it is.” Following the release of ‘Light & Magic’, Ladytron were invited to write and produce tracks for Christina Aguilera’s 2010 album ‘Bionic’ and last year, the… Read More →

23AUGNews

Beastie Boys release ‘Sabotage’-inspired action figures

Beastie Boys have teamed up with toy designers Super7 for a series of ‘Sabotage’-inspired action figures. READ MORE: Special relationships: iconic American bands’ explosive, early UK shows The trio of toys sees Ad Rock, MCA and Mike D dressed as their alter-egos from the 1994 music video for ‘Sabotage’. The Spike Jonze-directed visuals saw Beastie Boys play fictional movie stars in a ‘70s crime drama, with MCA playing Nathan Wind playing Cochese, Ad-Rock playing Vic Colfari playing Bobby, ‘The Rookie,” and Mike D playing Alasondro Alegré playing ‘The Chief’. Super7 has made some official ReAction Figures paying homage to the original cast of Sabotage. Collect them all! Pre-order in the US store: https://t.co/9V1r7CoCT0 Or at @super7store: https://t.co/uCX4ygYqBB#Sabotage #Super7 #ActionFiguresNotDolls pic.twitter.com/2EN799enYZ — Beastie Boys (@beastieboys) August 22, 2022 Advertisement The Super7 action figures remain faithful to these characters and cost $20 (£17) each. They’re available to pre-order individually or as a set here and are due to ship in September. Super 7 have previously turned members of Ghost, Motörhead, Iron Maiden, Misfits and Run DMC into action figures, with the company saying: “Music inspires everything that Super7 does and we all have songs and artists that are the soundtrack to our… Read More →

23AUGNews

Jerry Allison, who drummed with Buddy Holly and the Crickets, dead at 82

Jerry Allison, who drummed as part of Buddy Holly-founded band The Crickets, has died at the age of 82. Allison’s death was confirmed yesterday (August 22) in a statement shared to Holly’s official Facebook page, which expressed “sincerest condolences to the family and friends” of the drummer. In the statement, Allison is described as “one of buddy’s very closest friends, and the inspiration to drummers for decades since”. A cause of death has not been disclosed. “[Allison] was a musician ahead of his time, and undoubtedly his energy, ideas and exceptional skill contributed to both The Crickets, and rock n’ roll itself, becoming such a success,” the statement continues. Advertisement “Buddy is often heralded as the original singer-songwriter, but [Allison], too, wrote and inspired so many of the songs that would go on to be eternal classics. There’s more to be said and posted here in the coming days. For today, we think about his family and friends and wish [Allison] to rest in peace.” Our sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Jerry 'JI' Allison, drummer in The Crickets, one of Buddy's very… Posted by Buddy Holly on Monday, August 22, 2022 Born in Hillsboro, Texas in 1939, Allison was… Read More →

23AUGNews

Nicki Minaj becomes the first solo female rapper to have a single debut at Number One since 1998

Nicki Minaj has debuted at Number One on the Billboard Hot 100 with her latest single, ‘Super Freaky Girl’, making her the first solo female rapper to achieve the feat in almost a quarter of a century. READ MORE: Nicki Minaj: every album ranked and rated It’s one of two big feats Minaj accomplished with her first solo track in more than two years, as it’s also become her first Number One hit as a lead artist. The rapper has three to her name altogether, topping the Hot 100 twice in 2020 – first alongside Doja Cat with their collaborative ‘Say So’ remix, then with her 6ix9ine joint ‘Trollz’ (notably, though, the latter suffered the biggest-ever chart fall for a Number One debut). According to Billboard, ‘Super Freaky Girl’ – which samples heavily from Rick James’ 1981 hit ‘Super Freak’ – racked up a total of 12.1million streams, 4.6million impressions via live radio tune-ins, and 89,000 downloads in the first week of its release. The song itself arrived on August 12 after being announced by Minaj a month earlier. Advertisement The last solo female rapper to debut at Number One on the Hot 100 was Fugees member Lauryn Hill, who did… Read More →

22AUGNews

Watch Slipknot’s cinematic new video for ‘Yen’

Slipknot have shared a cinematic new video for their recently released new single, ‘Yen’ – check it out below. READ MORE: Corey Taylor: “If I can wear a mask for a two hour Slipknot show, people can wear one for five minutes in a grocery store” The video is a six-and-a-half-minute short film which sees frontman Corey Taylor in a number of dramatic situations and gives a closer look at Sid Wilson’s mask. The song is taken from the band’s upcoming new album, ‘The End, So Far’, which is released on September 30 via Roadrunner Records, marking the band’s final record with the label after first signing with them in 1998. You can pre-order the album here. Advertisement The song was described in a press statement as “a showcase of Slipknot’s exceptional range” and a record that sees the band “charting new ground as they continue to redefine, revitalise, and reimagine the scope of rock music.” It follows on from their previous single, ‘The Dying Song’. Check out the new video here: Recently, Taylor discussed his mindset while writing the band’s upcoming album ‘The End, So Far’ in an interview with Kerrang. The frontman referred to the band’s sixth album, ‘We Are Not Your… Read More →

22AUGNews

Check out the full stage times for Reading & Leeds 2022

The full stage and set times have been revealed for Reading & Leeds 2022. Check them out below. The twin site festival returns this weekend (August 26-28) with headliners including Arctic Monkeys, The 1975, Halsey, Dave, Megan Thee Stallion, Bring Me The Horizon and more across two main stages. In recent weeks, The 1975 were announced as last-minute headliners for Reading & Leeds 2022 after Rage Against The Machine were forced to pull out. Advertisement Last week (August 11) saw RATM cancel their upcoming UK and European headline tour due to frontman Zack de la Rocha’s ongoing leg injury. He’s been given “medical guidance” not to proceed with performing beyond the band’s run of dates in New York, which concluded last weekend (August 14). Elsewhere, Måneskin and Jack Harlow both pulled out of this year’s festivals due to “scheduling conflicts.” Last week, festival organisers released a statement saying they were “saddened” after it emerged that Måneskin and Harlow had pulled out of this year’s festival in order to attend the MTV VMAs. Their replacements were announced as Charli XCX and AJ Tracey. Ahead of the festivals, the official Reading website along with Leeds Festival have shared the stage times for each act. See full stage times for every day and every stage across… Read More →

22AUGHit Singles

Hear Bitchin Bajas’ new track, “Amorpha”

Bitchin Bajas are back, with their first new album since 2017’s Bajas Fresh. ORDER NOW: Joni Mitchell is on the cover of the latest issue of Uncut Bitchin Bajas – aka Cooper Crain, Rob Frye and Dan Quinlivan – release Bajascillators on 2xLP and cassette September 2 by Drag City. You can watch the video for “Amorpha”, from the album, below. Advertisement The band have also announced a run of American dates: Oct.12 – Minneapolis, MN @ Parkway Theater * Oct.13 – Iowa City, IA @ Trumpet Blossom Oct.14 – Rock Island, IL @ Rozz Tox Oct.15 – Milwaukee, WI @ Promises * Oct.16 – Chicago, IL @ Constellation * *visuals by Nick Ciontea Nov.29 – Indianapolis, IN @ State Street Pub Nov.30 – Detroit, MI @ UFO Factory Dec.1 – Toronto, ON, Canada @ Baby G’s Dec.3 – Kingston, NY @ Tubby’s Dec.4 – Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool Dec.5 – Baltimore, MD @ Normal’s Books and Records Dec.6 – Dec.7 – Philadelphia, PA @ Boot and Saddle presented by Arvs Nova Workshop Dec.8 – Washington DC @ Rhizome Dec.9 – Durham, NC @ Shadowbox Studio Dec.10 – Asheville, NC @ Revolve Sound Dec.11 – Knoxville, TN @ Pilot… Read More →

22AUGNews

Drake has been named as Shazam’s most-searched artist

Drake has been named by Shazam as their most-searched artist. The music-searching app is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, having initially launched in August 2002 as a UK-based text messaging service. READ MORE: Drake – ‘Honestly, Nevermind’ review: rapper’s house makeover provides long-overdue career boost To mark the milestone, Shazam has now shared a list of its most-searched artists and songs over the course of the past two decades. Advertisement Drake has come out on top of their most-searched artist chart, picking up over 350million Shazams across songs that the Canadian artist has led or featured on. The rapper’s 2016 single ‘One Dance’ is his most popular track, registering over 17 million Shazams on the app. Tones And I‘s ‘Dance Monkey’ holds the record for the most Shazamed song ever, with 41million Shazams registered. It was also the fastest song to reach 20million Shazams, racking up the number in 219 days. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Shazam (@shazam) You can see a list of notable Shazam firsts below. First-ever Shazamed song: ‘Jeepster’ by T. Rex (April 19, 2002) First Shazamed song on the iOS app: ‘How Am I Different’ by Aimee Mann (July 10, 2008)… Read More →

20AUGNews

Nappy Roots member Fish Scales shot during a robbery and kidnapping

Fish Scales, a member of the hip hop group Nappy Roots, has reportedly been shot at a brewery in Atlanta, Georgia, during a robbery and kidnapping. The incident occurred at Atlantucky Brewing – co-owned by Scales and fellow Nappy Roots member Skinny Deville – on Wednesday 17 August. As reported by The Atalnta Journal-Constitution, local police reported two suspects had robbed a customer around 11pm outside the brewery, before proceeding inside and forcing Scales into his vehicle at gun point. Advertisement It is has not been established at what point Scales – real name Melvin Adams – was shot during the ordeal, however, police said he escaped on foot to a home in nearby Hapeville. Adams is currently recovering at Grady Memorial Hospital. Nappy Roots posted to Instagram on Friday (August 19) to thank their fans for the support Adams has received. Pictured alongside Deville (aka William Hughes), Nappy Roots wrote: “We again want to thank everyone for the support and prayers for our Brother @nappyscales … he wanted to let everyone know that he is in good spirits and can’t wait to get back to the music and atlantucky brewing.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by… Read More →

20AUGNews

Government warned: “Without immediate action, energy crisis will close more venues than COVID”

A stark warning has been released that the impending energy crisis could pose a greater threat to UK grassroots music venues than the COVID pandemic unless the government takes immediate action. Earlier this week, five organisations representing the UK hospitality sector penned an open letter to the UK government, highlighting “rocketing energy prices” that are forecast to become “a matter of existential emergency” later this year – and demanding that the government act soon to prevent a catastrophe to UK culture. In the hospitality sector, operators are facing average annual bill increases in the region of at least 300 per cent, meaning that many businesses and jobs in the sector are “at grave risk”. Advertisement Now, Music Venue Trust CEO Mark Davyd has spoken to NME of the true threat posed by the looming price rise, comparing it to the COVID pandemic which at one point saw 93 per cent of the UK’s grassroots music venues were under threat of being closed forever due to losses caused by restrictions. “Without action from the government, we are now modelling that this will close more venues than the pandemic,” he argued. “We don’t see any other outcome.” He continued: “It feels weird… Read More →

19AUGNews

Elton John and Britney Spears share cover art for new collaboration

Elton John and Britney Spears have shared the cover art for their upcoming collaboration, ‘Hold Me Closer’. Check it out below. READ MORE: Controlling Britney Spears review: toxic conservatorship back under the microscope Last week, reps for both artists sent out a release stating the pair had worked on a joint track together. The confirmation followed multiple claims that the pair were “secretly recording” a new version of John’s 1972 single ‘Tiny Dancer’. The single is available for pre-save here. Now, the release date of that project has been confirmed as August 26, and the artwork for the collaboration has now also been shared. It features childhood pictures of both John and Spears. Advertisement Check it out here: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Elton John (@eltonjohn) A recent Page Six article quoted an unnamed source who called the rumoured track “incredible”, adding: “Britney was in the studio in Beverly Hills last week with Elton for the super-secret recording session overseen by uber-producer Andrew Watt.” Meanwhile, during a recent interview with Paul Voor Je Neus, Paris Hilton – who is a longtime friend of Spears – confirmed the rumours were true. “It’s gonna be iconic,” Hilton said of John and Spears’ upcoming… Read More →

19AUGNews

Björk reveals that her name album is called ‘Fossora’

Björk has revealed the title of her new album ‘Fossora’, and discussed how it concerns the death of her mother in 2018. In a new interview with The Guardian, the Icelandic singer officially announced the follow-up to 2017’s ‘Utopia’, which is touted to arrive this autumn. Two songs from the record, ‘Sorrowful Soil’ and ‘Ancestress’, are said to be directed tributes to the singer’s mother, Hildur Rúna Hauksdóttir, who died in 2018. Advertisement On the latter track, she sings: “The machine of her breathed all night while she rested / Revealed her resilience / And then it didn’t.” Discussing her mother’s death at the age of 72, the singer added: “That’s quite early. I think me and my brother were not ready to … we thought she had 10 years left. So we were like: ‘Come on,’ and getting her to fight and … and it was like she had an inner clock in her and she was just ready to go.” As the interview describes, the album cover for ‘Fossora’ sees Björk as “a glowing forest sprite, her fingertips fusing with the fantastic fungi under her hooves.” ‘Fossora’ is set to feature collaborations with Serpentwithfeet and Indonesian punks Gabber… Read More →

19AUGNews

Here are the stage times for The Chemical Brothers and Kraftwerk at All Points East 2022

This Saturday (August 20), Field Day takes over All Points East in London’s Victoria Park with The Chemical Brothers and Kraftwerk. Check out the full stage and performance times below. READ MORE: Does Rock ‘N’ Roll Kill Braincells?! – Kraftwerk’s Karl Bartos Across seven stages, the day also sees performances from Peggy Gou, Floating Points, Daniel Avery and many more. The Chemical Brothers will close the festival’s East Stage, preceded by a headline performance on the opposite West Stage from Kraftwerk. Advertisement See the full stage times for Field Day at All Points East with The Chemical Brothers and Kraftwerk below, and buy your tickets here. The Chemical Brothers performs on stage on July 8, 2022 in Rome, Italy. (Picture: Roberto Panucci/Corbis via Getty Images) East Stage The Chemical Brothers – 9.25pm Peggy Gou – 7.20pm Floating Points – 6.00pm HAAi – 5.00pm FJAAK – 4.00pm Logic1000 – 3.00pm Emerland B2B Jossy Mitsu – 2.00pm Eliza Rose – 1.00pm Otik – 12.00pm Ray-Ban West Stage Kraftwerk – 8.00pm Carl Craig B2B Moodymann – 6.20pm Folamour: PTTP – 5.00pm Erol Alkan – 4.00pm Artwork B2B CC:DISCO! – 3.00pm Salute – 2.00pm Cici – 1.00pm North Stage Denis Sulta B2B Mella Dee… Read More →

18AUGNews

Quavo explains why Takeoff was left out of Migos’ hit song ‘Bad and Boujee’

Quavo has revealed the reason behind Takeoff’s absence on the Migos song ‘Bad & Boujee’. READ MORE: Migos: “We show up with the goods and prove you wrong” The rappers — who form two-thirds of the Migos trio alongside Offset — discussed the 2016 song in a teaser clip for the music podcast Rap Radar. During the snippet of the interview published Wednesday (August 17), podcast host Elliot Wilson questions why Takeoff wasn’t included on the track, which was the lead single of Migos’ sophomore album, ‘Culture’. “I think it was just timing,” Migos explained. “We were just trying to get something out. We was actually pissed off because we had no music out”. Respectfully. @QuavoStuntin + @1YoungTakeoff #RapRadarPodcast ?? 8.18 pic.twitter.com/pLmbdoITcq — Elliott Wilson (@ElliottWilson) August 16, 2022 Advertisement After airing frustrations about the delayed release of ‘Bad & Boujee’, Migos revealed that the rap trio was under a serious time crunch when producing the track, and “ended up leaking ‘Bad & Boujee’ on SoundCloud first.” Further discussing the song’s origins, Quavo revealed that even he wasn’t supposed to appear on ‘Bad & Boujee’, but later “rushed” a verse alongside Offset and Lil Uzi Vert, who featured on the track’s… Read More →

18AUGNews

Listen to PVA’s dark new single, ‘Bad Dad’

PVA have shared a dark new single called ‘Bad Dad’ – listen to it below. The South London trio have shared the latest track from upcoming debut album ‘BLUSH’, which arrives on October 14 via Ninja Tune. Speaking on the themes of the single, the band’s Ella Harris said: “Bad Dad explores the internal world of a new father checking in on his son at night, afraid of the lineage of masculinity and how it might impact someone so untainted.” Advertisement Check out the song here: Speaking about the upcoming new album, drummer Louis Satchell said: “We wanted to surprise people and do something more than just get across how we sound at a gig. It’s quite an anxious record sometimes that is relating to mental health issues and carries within it the anxiety of making an album. It’s been a rocky ride but we always pick ourselves up.” “This album is definitely exploring who we are as people,” vocalist Josh Baxter added. “We’ve all had this personal growth and the album is about us allowing us to be ourselves more and being comfortable with that.” Alongside details of their debut album, PVA have also confirmed that their first ever headline tour… Read More →

18AUGNews

New M.I.A. song previewed on Netflix’s ‘Never Have I Ever’

An as-yet-unreleased M.I.A. song has been previewed in a new episode of Netflix‘s Never Have I Ever – check out the clip below. The coming-of-age comedy, co-created by Mindy Kaling (The Office, The Mindy Project) and Lang Fisher (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Mindy Project), returned for a third season last Friday (August 12). READ MORE: Never Have I Ever review: John McEnroe narrates Mindy Kaling’s hilariously off-kilter Netflix teen drama In the opening scene of the final episode, titled ‘…lived the dream’, we hear an unknown M.I.A track that is said to contain a sample of ‘Oh Vennilave’ by the Indian film composer Ilaiyaraaja. Advertisement The song in question features the words “stand up“, which could possibly be its title. You can watch a snippet of the scene here: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ŧʟʏ קɪʀᴀᴛᴇꜱ ?? (@flyflypirates) Never Have I Ever follows the life of Indian-American high school student Devi, who is dealing with the sudden death of her father. It’s loosely based on Mindy Kaling’s childhood experiences in Boston, Massachusetts, and has been praised for breaking South Asian stereotypes. Last week saw M.I.A. share a new single called ‘Popular’. The track was co-written and co-produced by Diplo,… Read More →

17AUGNews

Queens Of The Stone Age’s Dean Fertita announces debut solo album and shares new song ‘Wheels Within Wheels’

Queens Of The Stone Age member Dean Fertita has announced plans for his debut solo album ‘Tropical Gothclub’. READ MORE: How Queens Of The Stone Age’s ‘Rated R’ was a no-bullshit antidote to nu-metal The LP, which will be released via Third Man Records on November 4, features 11 tracks. The Raconteurs and Dead Weather man has also shared the first taster from the record – ‘Wheels Within Wheels’, which you can listen to below. Advertisement “One thing can influence another on levels we don’t see. All of our experience is chemical alteration and total DNA demolition,” Fertita said of the track. “‘Tropical Gothclub’ as a concept is futuristic nostalgia going through the seven stages of escapism, understanding the subliminal messages I’ve been sending and receiving to myself, and letting fantasy take a machete to the darkest corners of my mind. I want subculture shock and volcanic rock,” he added. The track will be released at Third Man Nashville, Detroit and London storefronts as a 7 inch with B-side ‘Street Level’, on October 7. Of the album, Fertita added: “The ‘Tropical Gothclub’ songs are like concept cars. They were meant to be put into future production once they were re-imagined and… Read More →

17AUGNews

Beth Orton shares intimate new single ‘Friday Night’, additional UK tour dates

Beth Orton has shared a video for her latest single ‘Friday Night’, as well as a string of newly-announced live in-store appearances. The track is the third to be lifted from her new album, ‘Weather Alive’ – following ‘Forever Young’ and the album’s title track – which is released on September 23 via Partisan Records. You can pre-order it here. Speaking about the new single, Orton said: “Friday Night is someone reflecting on, and trying to decide, what to give up or what to surrender to. Passion or ambivalence? Whether to ‘bleed or rust in the rain’. Advertisement “Most of us are struggling to make sense of where to put the love we have for those that are lost to us, let alone the ones that remain. Sometimes there is no right answer except to find the wisdom in the spaces between the endings and beginnings, in the remembrance of things past or in search of lost time, there are always re-percussions to the choices we make. “We are listening to the internal dialogue of someone living it out, what is futile and what is worth fighting for, and trying to do as little damage along the way. Friday night… Read More →